The expectations IVF patients have of their healthcare professionals in helping them to navigate choices around the use of add-ons are spectral and potentially divergent from those of their doctors.
Researchers at Queen Mary University of London spoke to 51 fertility patients and found that while some patients prefer to delegate decisions to their doctors, others, particularly those for whom fertility treatment has not worked in the past are willing to decide for themselves to take risks. Results were published in the journal Sociology of Health and Illness.
Study author Dr Josie Hamper, said: 'Our research challenges the view of IVF patients as willing to uncritically accept or request unproven and expensive treatment as a desperate act to increase their chances of having a baby; on the contrary, we found they actively make complex decisions in the intense and uncertain world of reproductive medicine. Patients choosing to pay for private treatment and pursue controversial add-ons is not due to a lack of information or understanding, but personally weighing the scientific evidence up against their own unique fertility journey.'
Researchers encouraged fertility doctors to consider the findings when approaching conversations about add-ons with patients.
